


Model For Me

by love_a_sexy_trash_can



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Alternate Universe - Art School, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Art School, Awkward Dates, Awkward Romance, Awkwardness, Coffee, College, First Dates, Flirting, M/M, Modeling, Muffins, Nude Modeling, Photography, huehuehuehue ):3c
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-01 09:56:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18798034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/love_a_sexy_trash_can/pseuds/love_a_sexy_trash_can
Summary: In his first life drawing class, Cole has a gay panic when he and the rest of the class must draw a reallyhotlikesuperattractive guy.Then it was the next day that they meet again and, for some reason, Kai with clothes on makes Cole feel even more flustered.





	Model For Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [plasma_shipping](https://archiveofourown.org/users/plasma_shipping/gifts).



> from a convo plasma and i had on insta and thought, "why not write it?" because it was fuckin genius uwu

"Cole, over here!" Lloyd waved at his friend, holding the door open with his foot. Cole walked as quickly as he could and walked through the entrance and grinned. "You're so close to being late."

"But I'm not," Cole said, shouldering his bag, his grin smug. "Where should I sit?" he asked the small boy.

Cole and Lloyd were both students at Ninjago's School of the Arts. Lloyd was somehow able to convince Cole to take a life drawing course with him, as long as the blond told the other what to do and what was expected since he had taken life drawing classes before. And it was obviously not because he started out by watching from outside the window of those classes or hiding in the rafters, _no_.

None of the students that were there in any of the seats. Most of them were sitting cross-legged on counters or stools not in the circle surrounding the small stage where their model for the day would be.

"Sit wherever, dude. No one cares. It's not like it'll matter anyway. When we start sketching the model, everyone is gonna have a different perspective from them," Lloyd explained. Cole shrugged and sat down in a chair that was central to the stage, Lloyd sitting on his left. "So, need me to explain anything else or you good?"

"Uh, well, how do we start? And how am I supposed to draw without looking at my paper?" Cole asked.

"Just start the way you normally would. Although I suggest focusing less on detail and do the basic sketch first. There's usually a time limit before you start the next sketch," Lloyd explained. "You kinda just get a feel for it, but it still takes a lot of practice and visualizing to be able to draw without looking at your paper as little as possible. Hey, Tox!" Lloyd shouted even though the girl was close by.

"What?" she grunted, moving her leg so the heel of her boot would click against the counter.

"Who's our model?" Lloyd asked.

"The fuck am I supposed to know? Shut up," Tox snarled before leaning in to whisper in Chamille's ear. She giggled and gently nudged her.

"Whoa, that was pretty gay," Shade joked, earning a light punch from Chamille.

"Does it matter who the model is?" Cole asked, slowly pulling out his pencil case and sketchbook. He bought a new one for this class (even though he had like four unused ones stashed underneath his bed).

"Nah, just as long as they're eighteen and don't drink or do drugs on the job," Lloyd said. "Why, does it matter to you?" Cole shrugged, opening the cover and writing his name on the inside.

"Nah, it's just that I've only ever drawn girls from models and references before," he said. Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

"How have you not drawn a guy before?"

"Obsession with learning the anatomy of the female body since I didn't know it that well as male anatomy," Cole said. Lloyd snorted but said nothing else and took out his supplies as well. The door opened again and someone who Cole assumed to be the teacher walked in. Mr. Xavier put his hair up in a ponytail and sat down at his desk.

"Alright class, take up the seats so we can get started," Mr. Xavier said, spinning in his chair.

"What, no 'good morning'?" one of the students commented.

"Too early for a good morning," Mr. Xavier said.

"It's like two in the afternoon," Tox said.

"Whatever, too early. Seats." There was a soft rumble of chuckling but the students sat down in the circle and pulled out what they needed. "Okay, so we have a new student with us. Hello, Cole."

"Uh, hi," Cole said on instinct.

"Okay, a few rules. Ten minutes on each sketch. Look at your paper as little as possible. And don't be weird with the model, no matter how horny you get," Mr. Xavier said with a serious expression, although he was close to cracking a smile too. He walked back to the door and left momentarily. When he returned, he held the door open. The air caught in Cole's throat before he began to breathe properly again.

The model was a guy, or at least, presented himself to be. His brown hair was messy and spiked, reminding Cole of a hedgehog. He was dressed in a robe that came down mid-calf, but it was as if his legs were too long to be covered anyway. (It was at that moment Cole realized that the model was actually  _naked_ underneath that robe.) His face was also really pretty, really sharp and serious, but also kind of puppyish and mischievous with that smile.

"Wanna share anything about yourself, Kai, or no?" Mr. Xavier said, pulling out his phone to set a timer for ten minutes.

"Uh, I like photography," Kai said with a smile. "That's all I'm gonna say." Suddenly, the robe was on the floor and he stepped onto the stage. Meanwhile, Cole-

Well, let's just say he was currently trying to ignore Lloyd's kicks and covering the lower half of his face with his free hand.

"Wait, can I use props?" Kai asked. The teacher nodded. "I need a chair."

"I gotcha," Chamille said, picking up a chair from a nearby table and held it over her head before handing it to the model. He smiled and thanked her. He set the chair down and rested his left and right on the backrest, his right hand on his hip, which drew attention to the fact that this guy was not only pretty muscular but also had a small waist. Cole tried to gulp as quietly as he could and yet again ignored Lloyd and his side-eye glance.

"And... begin," Mr. Xavier said, starting the timer. Kai was facing Chamille, Tox, and Shade, giving Cole and Lloyd the perspective of his right side and the people behind him a good view of his back.

"Wow, y'all are so silent," Kai commented halfway through the first sketch. "Too bad there's no music, that'd be lit. But then I wouldn't stay still," he chuckled.

"Don't move your hand," one of the girls on his left said sharply.

Cole quickly discovered he was actually really good at visualizing his paper, just as long as he took a quick, occasional glance to make sure he wasn't drawing in a different spot than where he had imagined. He had drawn almost everything and was contemplating whether he should add in some of the more  _private_ details when the timer went off. Everyone turned their pages and gave Kai a chance to change positions. He pushed the chair to the center of the small stage and rested his crossed arms on the seat, his legs kneeling underneath him. This time, Cole had the perspective of his back.

"Tell me about yourselves," Kai said with a smile. The girls closest to him snorted but didn't respond. "Aw, how rude." He pushed out his bottom lip in a fake pout. He softly hummed to himself until Mr. Xavier called out the ten minutes were up. Everyone paused to flip to a clean page again as Kai switched the chair for a footstool.

Shade snorted. "You're short."

"My personality makes up for that. Also, footstools are a blessing, which probably gives away how much I rely on them to reach the top shelf," Kai shot back with no hesitation. He sat down in a position resembling  _The Thinker_ when he saw Cole and Lloyd from his peripheral vision. "Oh, hey Lloyd."

"What up?" Lloyd said with a slight jerk of his chin.

"Never knew you'd be going to school here. Isn't art school, like, really expensive?" Kai asked. He tried to turn his head as much as he could without any of the students freaking out.

"So, here's the thing," Lloyd started, taking a quick glance at his page before meeting Kai's eyes. "Ninjago's School of the Arts is of high quality and a lot of people come here. Art schools are expensive because of how overpriced the supplies are. But so many people attend or want to attend here that eventually, the school didn't even need to charge for supplies anymore. It's pretty lit. Too bad they had to pay for that one time Morro sniffed like a whole thing of glue just to see how high he would get."

"Can't sniffing enough glue kill you?" Kai asked.

"Yeah." The room was silent before Cole snorted. "He's still alive but it was fucking stupid. And he's not even an art student, he's a band kid. Plays a mean oboe."

"I'm going to assume I wasn't here when that happened," Mr. Xavier said, adjusting his pants, which were probably his pajamas. Iconic.

"No, you were here," Tox said, smirking. "You just were trying to give up coffee and were in the middle of caffeine withdrawal."

"First of all, shut up," Mr. Xavier chuckled. "Second of all, change 'cause time's up."

Kai temporarily pushed the footstool to the side, most likely going to use it in another pose. For now, Kai slowly lowered himself into the splits and leaned back to provide himself more support, turning his head to the side to continue facing Lloyd. The timer started again.

"You never introduced me to your friend, Lloyd," Kai said, a mischievous look in his eyes. The blond stuck out his tongue. Kai winked at Cole. "Wassup, dude?"

Cole accidentally pressed too hard on his lead and made a huge dot of graphite. Thankfully, the point didn't break. "Hi."

"What's your name?" Kai asked. So he was really gonna keep pushing for a conversation? (Not that Cole really minded.)

"Cole," he said, hoping no one noticed the slight voice crack. "You like modeling?" Kai chuckled through his nose and shook his head a bit, a lot of the spikes staying in place.

"Dunno. First day, but I definitely like the feel of it," he said. "What about you? You been doing art very long?"

"Yeah, I guess," Cole responded. He looked down for a moment and decided to change the angle of the head. Maybe add the smile, too?

"Kai, I swear to god, if you move your head again, I'm gonna throw my pencil at you," one of the male students said. Tox cackled out loud.

"You can't even drive straight, Kevin!" she shouted, momentarily looking away from the model.

"Nothing about me is straight. Is anyone here straight, excluding Mr. Xavier?" Kevin said.

"I had a boyfriend in middle school," the teacher said, kicking his feet up to rest on his desk. The students screamed but still continued to draw.

"Wait, you were in middle school?" one of the girls teased.

"I think I'm straight," one of the guys said. Someone mumbled, " _You think?_ " but nothing else was said. Finally, the timer went off.

"Hey, if you want any validation, I thought I was bi, but I'm pretty sure I'm straight," another girl said. The guy smiled.

"That's cute," Kai cooed, standing and stretching for a moment. "I guess it's true, art schools usually have all the gays."

"Also, I'm not that old," Mr. Xavier said. "I would like to say that stereotype is simply that, but it is kinda true."

It remained silent for a few minutes aside from the occasional mumble related to hating feet or that their hand is cramping. Finally, the timer went off again and everyone waited for the model to choose a comfortable position.

As Cole watched him, he was sure Kai winked at him with those golden eyes. The brunet sat down on the floor, crossing his ankles and resting his elbows on his knees. He pushed his fingers through his hair and grinned. "I'm ready."

It took Cole a couple of seconds before he began his sketch. It was turning out very good, but then Lloyd had to ruin his flow halfway through his adding of details.

"Cole, you can see his asshole, can't you? Draw it," the blond stage-whispered. Cole's face burned as some of the others laughed at Lloyd's comment. Even Kai laughed.

"Lloyd, I  _will_ kill you, I swear to god," Cole hissed, trying to keep his hand steady and ended needed to look at his page.

For the rest of those ten minutes, Kai conversed with Cole the most, completely disregarding the fact that he was trying to smother his embarrassment as much and as quickly as possible.

When it was finally time for a break, Cole threw his  **FOR BIG MISTAKES** eraser at Lloyd, who only laughed.

* * *

Cole quickly crossed the street before the light would turn red. He was running a little late so hopefully, the coffee shop wasn't so busy dealing with sleep deprived, completely exhausted college students.

It was cool inside the building, which was a blessing. It was way too hot outside for seven in the morning. He stood in line, also a blessing that is was a lot shorter today.

When it was finally his turn, Cole ordered a double chocolate chip mocha and a chocolate muffin with no shame. He could have ordered the slice of cake in the window, but even he had standards.

Since he would still have to wait for a few minutes, Cole wanted to sit down. But the people before him already had that idea because every other chair was taken. There was a table with two seats behind, there being only one person playing on their phone. He walked up to them and cleared his throat.

"Hey, uh, can I sit here?" Cole asked. Then he took half a step back.

The eyes that stared back at him were easily recognizable. Even though he sat farther away from the window, Kai's eyes seemed to glow and shine like gold.

"Yeah, sure," the brunet said, setting his phone down. "I'm just waiting for my order and it gets lonely sometimes. How are you... Cole, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Cole chuckled, taking a seat. "You're wearing clothes," he added dumbly. Thankfully, Kai grinned and laughed softly.

"Kind of have to since it's against the law to wander around nude," he teased. "So, anything interesting happening in school?"

"Uh, I guess. I met the Morro kid. He's cool, but I can see why he sniffed all that glue. He is the epitome of not giving a shit." The two of them laughed. Kai scratched at his palm. "Hey, where do you go to school? You obviously don't go to mine."

"You got me," Kai said. "I go to the community college in the poor part of the city. You know, what inner city people call the ghetto."

"I used to live there, actually," Cole said. "Of course, we moved but... uh, yeah." Kai smiled. "Like, it doesn't make sense to call it that. Some people just can't afford to live closer to the center of the city, and for good reason. It's so expensive!"

"Preach, dude."

"Is that why you're doing modeling? Lloyd told me that the models are paid," Cole asked. Kai nodded and tapped his nails against the table, making soft clicking sounds.

"My parents never had a lot of money so I'm trying to earn what I can to avoid burdening them. Which is actually how I got into photography," Kai said. Before Cole could ask for clarification, the barista behind the counter called the brunet's name. However, Kai came back to his seat and grinned, holding a cup of steaming black coffee and one of the breakfast wraps.

"So what does not having enough money lead to you doing photography?" Cole asked. Kai sipped at his coffee, not even flinching from the heat.

"I started just by taking random pictures, print and hand them out. Eventually, I thought it would be fun to get a camera and charge a little for each picture," Kai explained. "So yeah, get paid some money for some pictures. I've been considering to start doing shoots with people someday."

"Okay, uh," Cole stuttered. "Well, two questions. One, how do you not react to drinking that hot of coffee?" Kai grinned without showing his teeth.

"I have a tolerance to heat."

"That's not normal.  _Second of all_ , how much are you thinking of charging for each shoot and pictures?" Cole asked. Kai stopped fiddling with the lid of his cup and looked up to meet hazel eyes.

"Uh, maybe twenty for an hour? I do ten for large landscape photos." Cole hummed and stuck out the tip of his tongue in a second of thought.

"So, that means I'm gonna have to pay you more. How about sixty for an hour?" Cole offered. Before Kai could answer and do away with the spreading blush on his face, Cole's name was called. Cradling his coffee and muffin to his chest, he sat back down and smiled widely, placing his food on the table with care. "So it's a deal, then?"

"Uh, um yeah! Sure," Kai chuckled softly, rubbing the back of his neck. "How does noon next Sunday sound?" Taking a bite from his muffin, Cole reached over and rested his hand on top of Kai's other hand that was still on the table.

"Perfect. Then, maybe we're done, we could have a proper date?" he added. Kai's jaw went slack, and his face burst with color again.

"Hey, I was supposed to be the smooth one!" Cole gave an exaggerated shrug as Kai pouted. Cole grasped Kai's hand and lifted it up to his lips. He waited for Kai's eyes to meet his before leaving a soft kiss on the back of his hand. "But yeah, I guess that's a good price. Thanks for being my model."

"Thanks for being mine," Cole said, giving Kai's hand one final squeeze. "Give me your number so I can call you." They scribbled on napkins with Cole's gold Sharpie and exchanged. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to find a certain blond to kill." Kai snorted and stood up with Cole.

"Please don't, we've been friends since middle school. I earned the right to kill him for embarrassing my boyfriend."

They would have walked out of the coffee shop hand in hand, but they had their respective muffin, breakfast wrap, and coffees to take care of first.

**Author's Note:**

> FUCK IT it was hard to write but i'm doing it >:D
> 
> if it looks like i'm procrastinating, i am but i don't mean to do it
> 
> also, i dropped a tv on my head on monday haha but i'm fine tho


End file.
